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Cricket XXV - The long runup to the World Cup


Stubby

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One hopes that after the thrills of the First Test, they will see that the best form of defense is to attack. They were extremely close to snatching that Test and their team should get better assuming they drop the spinner Sharma.

I enjoyed the fightback in the first test, I dislike snooze feasts or overly one sided tests.

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Almost feels like the first match of a series with two new captains and two completely different bowling attacks. India's batting looks much stronger to me, but many a touring side has perished to the bounce of the 'Gabba.


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Almost feels like the first match of a series with two new captains and two completely different bowling attacks.

Couldn't agree with you more Pax. It's like the first Test was a warmup match and this is the start of the real series. For Smith's sake I hope he gets off to a good start in this match.

Vijay's knock was fantastic - a solid yet attacking innings. He really is turning into a good opener for India. The jury's still out on Dhawan as a Test batsman though.

Still not sure about their ability to get 20 wickets in a match, but India do have a strong batting lineup from 1-8. Vijay and Kohli are in great form, Pujara has an excellent record, and Dhoni and Ashwin at 7 and 8 are pretty strong batsmen for their positions in the order.

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Good day from India. I guess they could be amassing a serious 1st innings total here if Rahane and Sharma stay in for any length of time. They should not feel under pressure in this team, as Dhoni and Ashwin can both bat.



On a side note, not a good start to Steve Smith's captaincy to be so far behind his over rate. Even if it is hot, with Lyon bowling so many overs the day's target should have been met.


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No. And it shits me. When I was captain of Ascot 3rds all those years ago I got personally fined for every over my team was under - regardless of the circumstances. The club treated it as a matter of disrespect, as Test teams used to.


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Yeah, over rates these days have gone to crap. As far as I know they still have fines for captains - didn't Ganguly get banned for a slow over rate once? But you don't seem to hear about it in recent years, which is a shame.



In general I think they have to find a better way of sanctioning players. At the moment it seems the only punishments are percentages of match fees, which may hurt your journeyman cricketer but for the star players with millions in endorsements it doesn't really affect them.



Short of match bans though I'm not sure there are many other ways of doing it.


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Alastair Cook just served a one match ban for repeated slow over offences.



Only for Eoin Morgan to walk in and dish up a slow over rate.



Where's the incentive? I agree with Jeor that, for certain at international level, penalising players with fines on their match fees does nothing.



I wouldn't mind something along the lines of not just the captain taking a ban but perhaps the bowler who took the most wickets in the previous match as well. I don't care if that turns out to be the spinner who gets through overs quicker, but whatever they're doing now just isn't working.


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The suspensions must be made mandatory. The match referees are an old boys club who don't have it in them to make the hard calls. Take it out of their hands and make suspensions mandatory for all slow over-rate offenses. The number of matches can categorised based on the number of overs missed out e.g. 1 match for 1-3 overs, 2 for 4-6 overs etc.



Also, if we're going to continue with the current system of fines, the value of the fines need to be several hundred percent of the match fee to have any meaning. I would suggest multiplying the current rates by 20.


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Going to enter the ballot for the Lord's Ashes Test. Went to The Oval last time, sat in Row 2 in my knight outfit and watched Shane Watson rack up a century under the blazing English sun this land is so famous for.



But I've only been to Lord's once before to see Pakistan get polished off by England the morning the news had broken of their spot-fixing. England took 22 overs to get rid of the tail - just 2 overs more than the minimum necessary to avoid any kind of refund. Who were the real fixers that day!?



So, because I've only been once... Anybody got any advice for where is a good place to sit and get a good view?



ETA: I've just learned that I sat in the Mound Stand when I went to see the Pakistan/England Test.


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Going to enter the ballot for the Lord's Ashes Test. Went to The Oval last time, sat in Row 2 in my knight outfit and watched Shane Watson rack up a century under the blazing English sun this land is so famous for.

But I've only been to Lord's once before to see Pakistan get polished off by England the morning the news had broken of their spot-fixing. England took 22 overs to get rid of the tail - just 2 overs more than the minimum necessary to avoid any kind of refund. Who were the real fixers that day!?

So, because I've only been once... Anybody got any advice for where is a good place to sit and get a good view?

ETA: I've just learned that I sat in the Mound Stand when I went to see the Pakistan/England Test.

The front of Edrich or Compton, as close to the bowler's arm as you can get - i.e. right hand seats of Edrich or left hand seats of Compton. If you aren't afraid of sunburn/sunstroke, the upper stands are better than being stuck at the back of Edrich or Compton (or probably the back of any of the public stands). From the back rows of the lower stands you can hardly see anything: I speak from experience.

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Ack, that's a shame - I can't tell whether the ballot differentiates from the front and back of Lower Compton/Edrich or not. I might have to take my chances in the uncovered upper stand just to be sure I get a view.



Thanks!


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De Villiers and Amla going well. West Indies have not made the most of favourable bowling conditions. Their line and length has been all over the place. Roach has been their best bowler. Unfortunately he has gone off injured and it doesn't look like he will play any further part with the ball in this match.


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Going to enter the ballot for the Lord's Ashes Test. Went to The Oval last time, sat in Row 2 in my knight outfit and watched Shane Watson rack up a century under the blazing English sun this land is so famous for.

But I've only been to Lord's once before to see Pakistan get polished off by England the morning the news had broken of their spot-fixing. England took 22 overs to get rid of the tail - just 2 overs more than the minimum necessary to avoid any kind of refund. Who were the real fixers that day!?

So, because I've only been once... Anybody got any advice for where is a good place to sit and get a good view?

ETA: I've just learned that I sat in the Mound Stand when I went to see the Pakistan/England Test.

I got an e-mail about the ballot opening as well. I haven't looked at the site yet, but I'll probably try applying for a ticket as well.

I think I was at The Oval the same day you were. In retrospect that day's play marked the start of England's calamitous decline, I reckon the sun being so strong that day may have caused some long-lasting sunstroke. I went to the final day of the Lord's Test that year as well and watched England steadily take 10 wickets, the contrast between the two performances could hardly have been greater.

I think I've been in either the lower Compton or Edrich stands when I've been to Lord's. The view has been fine when I've been there, although I don't think I've had a seat right at the back so maybe I've been lucky based on Eloisa's comments about the view from there. The lower stand does have the advantage of offering cover from sun or rain.

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